Copper wire is expensive and old-fashioned. Phone companies don’t want to maintain or use it anymore. Still, some customers like their reliable old land-lines, and the law creates certain obligations for phone companies to provide and maintain them. But Verizon is apparently so sick and tired of providing plain old telephone service that they’re threatening to disconnect customers who don’t “voluntarily” upgrade to fiber A.S.A.P. [More]
we don’t care; we don’t have to
AT&T: Municipal Broadband Should Be Banned Anywhere Private Companies Might Want To Do Business Later
By 9.3.14
It’s no secret that AT&T and other big ISPs are no fans of municipal broadband projects. There are laws on the books in many states that block the expansion of municipal networks, but the FCC is considering using its authority to override those laws and let communities build networks if they wish. AT&T is also no fan of this proposal. In fact, says AT&T, not only should public networks be barred anywhere there is already a private option, but also they should be barred in any place there might possibly be a plan to build a private option in the future. [More]
Time Warner Cable Keeps Charging Customers More For Internet Because They Can
By 8.1.14
Time Warner Cable customers have been seeing their bills climbing at a pretty steady clip over the past few years. For all that TWC might complain about needing more negotiating power with content companies, though, the cable half of the equation isn’t the problem. Instead, all that nickel-and-diming comes right from the cord most consumers won’t be able to cut: broadband access. [More]
